1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electric toothbrushes, and more particularly to electric toothbrushes that include bristles made of a fiber optic that reciprocates on the brush head.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electric toothbrushes typically include a head that rocks back and forth or a plurality of bristles that rotate continuously or twist back and forth over the surfaces of the teeth or gums. One drawback with such toothbrushes is that the bristles do not adequately clean the gum pockets formed on the sides of the teeth.
Toothbrush cleaners that use ultraviolet light to clean the bristles and heads of a toothbrush are disclosed in the inventor's previously filed U.S. utility patent application GERMICIDAL TOOTHBRUSH AND HOLDER, (Ser. No. 10/865,877), filed on Jun. 14, 2004. Such cleaners, which are incorporated by reference herein, include a germicidal ultraviolet light source that produces coherent ultraviolet light of a suitable wavelength (254 nm) capable of acting as a germicide.